Only the very young and the very old, it is said, may recount their dreams, but what happens when you are both young and old? Perhaps Kenneth Njeru knows the burden of purpose, having had to sacrifice partying, relationships, binging—the hallmarks of a life under construction—to grow up and set up Africa Afya Healthcare at just 20. “We were originally focused on investment acquisitions in the healthcare sector, but now we also provide technological solutions to healthcare facilities,” he says.
Said solutions include teleradiology reporting thanks to Africa Afya’s Picture Archiving Systems (PACS), which enables understaffed hospitals, especially in remote areas, to access radiology reporting.
“Hospitals use it when the radiologist is not available. The patient is scanned and the radiologist receives the patient’s medical history in an instant.” He is quick to add that they [Africa Afya Healthcare] also have their own radiologist on standby, should one be needed.
Kenneth is not shy to talk about his odyssey across the vast ocean of his life. He has always been an independent thinker, he says. But don’t be fooled —he is not a blue-eyed boy in love with his idea. Contrary. He walks about with a calculated pragmatism, the kind of man to leave his business card in bowls.
"Believe in yourself and just do it. If you have to think about it, you will give yourself a reason not to. Just start and learn along the way."
“I looked at the macros as well—in as much as I wanted to help the people and the impact of our services. I had an interest in investing in everything but I learned which areas are a good investment and one of the key factors is the industry where the business is in, and healthcare is a strong industry.”
What does he hope to achieve? Financial freedom and worldwide impact in the millions, he says. “It sounds vague but how else can I say it? I want Africa to achieve the respect it can earn in providing high performance in communities that are a beacon for excellence.”
The Bachelor of Science graduate from the Technical University of Kenya offers no remonstrations or apologies. If retirement is wasted on the old, and youth is wasted on the young, he gets rid of that premise altogether.
“I do not want to regret anything on my deathbed. I always take action based on whatever decision I have made with all the information I had at that time.” And it seems he backed the right horse, having recently been recognised by Forbes Africa as one of the highflying dynamos in its “Top 30 Under 30” 2024.
“I have been a 40-year-old since I was 20,” he says. “I have sacrificed many things just to focus on my career and goals.” But as every other businessman knows, getting to the top is one thing, and staying there another. That is why he is not taking any chances—waking up with a daily prayer, doing his morning affirmations, and going through his goals. “Am I doing what needs to be done for me to achieve my objectives?”
What does he know that others should know? He takes some time to think about it. Proper elder behaviour. Never in a rush. After a while — a long while — he says, “Believe in yourself and just do it. If you have to think about it, you will give yourself a reason not to. Just start and learn along the way.”
-Eddy Ashioya